[MineralMan]

"If potholes need filling, why can't the proper authorities simply offer a competitive wage for those jobs? Why must they be empowered to compel people to perform those tasks at gunpoint?"

Good question, but they don't, do they? And who's saying Universal Service would be an unpaid position, anyhow? Not me, certainly. We're not fixing the potholes now, are we?

[ThinkDifferent]

We're not fixing the potholes now, are we?

Perhaps the city officials and voters have decided that doing so isn't worth the cost. How is it that you know better than them?

And who's saying Universal Service would be an unpaid position, anyhow?

By definition, it wouldn't pay what the job would be worth in a free market. If it did, there would be no need to compel service.